Lifelong Learning Program

The Lifelong Learning Program is a new opportunity for experiencing the joy of learning! The LLP is a collaboration by Colgate University and the community to provide adults with ongoing education for the enrichment of their lives in a diversity of fields. The LLP is a membership organization run by its members, all of whom are LLP students. The program gives members access to an unlimited number of programs, seminars and special events. Lifelong Learning programs have been called a "health club for the brain. Membership in the LLP develops insight, stimulates curiosity and satisfies the intellect. The LLP provides an opportunity for social interaction and intellectual gain in a group atmosphere. Members have the opportunity to develop new ideas and gain a better understanding of the community, the world and oneself!

• Current Course Offerings

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Contact information

 Current Courses

Our latest listing of courses offered for members of our Lifelong Learning Program is below. We’re pleased to offer courses from Colgate faculty members Jon Jacobs and Wendy Wall, community members Dick Cheshire and Hugh Humphreys, and Colgate student Victor Omwando.

Freedom, Responsibility and Punishment

This seminar, which is based on a course of the same name currently taught by Jon Jacobs at Colgate, will examine issues of freedom, responsibility and the justification of punishment, and the connections between them. These are central and enduring issues and they have real contemporary and concrete importance. Participants will examine questions about what sorts of freedom of the will and freedom of action persons have or can have, what sorts of freedom matter and why, and the extent to which individuals are responsible for their actions and their characters. All of this will be brought to bear on the question of the justification for punishment. What is legal punishment for, and how do we ascertain what type of punishment is morally appropriate? What is the normative basis for the state using its power to punish?

Date: Mondays, April 7, 14, 21 and 28

Time: 4:15 pm to 5:30 pm

Location: Colgate Bookstore, Class of 2003 Events Room

Facilitator: Jonathan Jacobs, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Arts & Humanities

Law and Literature

Hugh Humphreys has recently taught a course in Law and Literature at Syracuse Law School, and will offer a similar program for the Lifelong Learning Program. During each of the four sessions, the course will examine concepts of justice, morality, the limits of advocacy, and ethics as they are set out in works of literature. Participants will be expected to prepare the assignments beforehand so that class discussions can be meaningful. These assignments include the following readings: first, the opening essay, entitled “Justice,” from Dominick Dunne’s book of the same title, plus some short readings from Cicero; second, Herman Melville’s, “Billy Budd”; third, Katherine Anne Porter’s “Noon Wine”; last, A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines. Registrants will receive copies of the first three readings, along with supplemental emails by Hugh, but should expect to purchase A Lesson Before Dying. Hugh Humphreys is a retired Madison County Judge and adjunct professor at Syracuse Law School. Presently he is a resident of Hamilton and part time pro bono lawyer with the Legal Aid Society in Utica.

Date: Wednesday, May 7, 14, 21 and 28

Time: 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm

Location: Colgate Bookstore, Seminar Room

Facilitator: Hugh Humphreys

Nonprofit Leadership: Optimizing Support for Your Cause

This is a two-day six-hour workshop in which volunteer and staff leaders learn how to implement a reformulated application of
leadership to help energize voluntary action to achieve their priority goals and objectives. first session will introduce the concept in an interactive format, after which participants will be sent a copy of the instructor's new electronic workbook, "The Leading Equation: From Compassion to Philanthropy" to be completed before the second session.the second session, participants will apply the concept to the formulation of strategic plans for their organizations.throughout will be on the essentials of a stated mission, the strength of volunteer and staff leadership following a viable game plan, and the pulling power of the cause with its natural support base potential.workshop is for any and all nonprofit advocates and champions. The instructor is Richard D. "Dick" Cheshire, Ph.D., retired chief development officer, university president, professor and fundraiser whose campaigns raised the equivalent of $500 million. He has served as a board leader of many local, state, and national nonprofits, and is now a community board member of Colgate's Upstate Institute and a Hamilton area resident.

Date: Saturday, May 10 and 24

Time: 10:00 am to 1:00 pm

Location: Colgate Bookstore, Class of 2003 Events Room

Facilitator: Richard D. “Dick” Cheshire

New Light on Kenya

In the second part of our student lecture program, Victor Omwando, a native of Kenya and member of the class of ?, will discuss the geographic, socio-religious and economic characteristics of Kenya, and address common misconceptions about his home country. This course will focus on Kenya’s government structure and political systems, as well as its history. Victor will address the recent electoral violence, its causes and the effect it has had on the country. He will also share details about how the government is resolving the conflict and will speculate on what the future holds for Kenya, given different scenarios. He will talk about the experience of being Kenyan and how he came to the United States. Finally, he will describe aspects that make Kenya an ideal tourist destination and will address security issues that people might have. This course will combine a lecture with a multimedia presentation and opportunities for discussion.

Date:TBD

Facilitator: Victor Omwando

Upstate Institute Symposium: Research on New York Upstate Region

Join the Upstate Institute and several Colgate faculty members as they discuss their current research conducted in Upstate New York. The following faculty will present their work:

Pete Banner-Haley, Department of History

Advancing the Community: An Overview of African American Networks in Upstate New York

Frank Frey and Tim McCay, Department of Biology: Natural History Museum of the Chenango Valley, Department of Biology

Meika Loe, Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Women’s Studies Program

A Comparative Analysis of Aging in Place: Hamilton and Albany, New York

William Meyer, Department of Geography

Syracuse Salt: The Life and Times of a Natural Resource

William Peck, Department of Geology

Carbon Isotopes of Historical Maple Syrup Collections: A Unique Record of Long-Term Sugar Bush Health

Date: Saturday, April 26

Time: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Location: 101 Ho Interdisciplinary Science Center

Campus Events

Picker Art Gallery Tours

Joachim Homann, curator, Picker Art Gallery, will present informal tours of two exhibitions: A Painters’ World: Twentieth Century Paintings in the Permanent Collection which brings together recognized American and European masterpieces with lesser known art from other countries such as Iceland, India, China, and Greece, and I See You: Drawings of Figures and Faces in the permanent collection which presents 22 spontaneous and intimate sketches by Paul Cézanne, Auguste Rodin, Paul Klee, and Willem de Kooning, among others, that exemplify how great art is inspired by keen observation of the human form.

Date: May 29 and May 30

Time: 3:00 pm

Location: Picker Art Gallery, Dana Arts Center

Emerging Cinema at the Hamilton Theater

The Hamilton Theater presents an ongoing series of art, independent and documentary films and special programming presented in high definition digital format. Members of the Lifelong Learning Program can purchase tickets for Emerging Cinema presentations at a discount.

Dates: Monday through Thursday each week

Time: 5:30 pm

Location: Hamilton Theater

Tickets: May be purchased at the door for $4.75 for LLP members

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits?

• The Lifelong Learning program gives members access to an unlimited number of programs, seminars and special events.

• Lifelong Learning programs have been called a "health club for the brain." Membership in an LLP develops insight, stimulates curiosity and satisfies the intellect.

• The LLP provides an opportunity for social interaction and intellectual gain in a group atmosphere.

• The LLP allows members to develop new ideas and gain a better understanding of the community, the world and oneself!

PLUS:

• All LLP members receive a 20% discount at the Colgate Bookstore any day of the week on most items.

• All LLP members have borrowing privileges at the Case-Geyer Library at Colgate.

• All LLP members receive discounted admission to the Emerging Cinemas offerings at the Hamilton Theater.

Who can join?

• The Lifelong Learning program is open to any adult who is interested in continuing to learn and spend time with like minded individuals.

• The desire to learn is the sole criterion for membership. There are no educational requirements.

What’s required?

• An individual annual  membership of $30 allows one to attend all events offered through the program. Family memberships are obtainable for $55. Scholarships are available!

• To attend courses, members must enroll. The last date for registration is indicated in the course listing.

 Who’s in charge?

• The Lifelong Learning program is sponsored by the Upstate Institute at Colgate University

• A steering team of community members and Upstate Institute staff have developed and guided the Lifelong Learning program. Future planning will involve the membership functioning through a committee structure.

 What opportunities are offered?

• The program includes peer-taught and faculty-led courses as well as special events, lectures and discussion groups.

• A list of the courses being offered each semester is published in the Lifelong Learning Program newsletter and on the Upstate Institute website.

• For a course catalog for the Fall 2007 session, please click here.

Need more information?

For more information, contact the Upstate Institute at Colgate University at 315-228-6623 or email the Lifelong Learning Program.